Molecular dynamics simulation on DNA translocating through MoS 2 nanopores with various structures

The emergence of MoS2 nanopores has provided a new avenue for high performance DNA sequencing, which is critical for modern chemical/biological research and applications. Herein, molecular dynamics simulations were performed to design a conceptual device to sequence DNA with MoS2 nanopores of different structures (e.g., pore rim contained Mo atoms only, S atoms only, or both Mo and S atoms), where various unfolded single-stranded DNAs (ssDNAs) translocated through the nanopores driven by transmembrane bias; the sequence content was identified by the associating ionic current. All ssDNAs adsorbed onto the MoS2 surface and translocated through the nanopores by transmembrane electric field in a stepwise manner, where the pause between two permeation events was long enough for the DNA fragments in the nanopore to produce well-defined ionic blockage current to deduce the DNA’sbase sequence. The transmembrane bias and DNA-MoS2 interaction could regulate the speed of the translocation process. Furthermore, the structure (atom constitution of the nanopore rim) of the nanopore considerably regulated both the translocate process and the ionic current. Thus, MoS2 nanopores could be employed to sequence DNA with the flexibility to regulate the translocation process and ionic current to yield the optimal sequencing performance.